Warner Bros. and TT Games recently released their DS title LEGO Battles, a strategy game set in the LEGO universe. NWR caught up with Producer Phill Ring to find out what it was like pitting plastic pirates, aliens, and knights against each other.

Nintendo World Report (NWR): LEGO Battles involves the Castle, Space, and Pirate LEGO universes. Why were these chosen in particular? Were there any others that you would have liked to include?

Phill Ring (Phill): When we were deciding on the themes these three just stood out as being the best choices. LEGO Castle, Pirates and Space are iconic themes that most people will remember playing with at some point in their lives, and it is just great fun battling with them to see who wins. We do have characters from different themes hidden for you to find but I don’t want to give too much away about them.

NWR: Did you encounter any design issues, perhaps in terms of game balance, due to the combination of so many different classes (aliens, pirates, wizards, ninjas, etc.)?

Phill: The balancing of the characters and vehicles was something the design team were very aware of during development. We wanted each unit to have its own strengths and weakness but didn’t want units too feel so powerful that you wouldn’t want to play with any others. It was important for us that players are able to pick the characters they want to play with and use them in the way they want without feeling like they are doing something wrong.

NWR: When you were designing the game, did you have one particular age group in mind? LEGO is a very historic brand that both adults and children enjoy.

Phill: During the design creating a game that was accessible to both children and adults was always a key objective. We wanted to make a game that people of any age would be able to play and enjoy together.

NWR: What games did you draw inspiration from during the design phase?

Phill: We spent a lot of time looking at what games were already on the market of this type to see how they played and what we liked and disliked with them, but really most of our inspiration came from playing with actual LEGO models and mini figures.

NWR: Do you feel the LEGO license restricted what you could and could not do in any way?

Phill: No, LEGO are a great company to work with and really understood what we wanted to make with LEGO Battles. It was also a lot of fun getting to work with the LEGO themes.

NWR: Did you ever consider including online multiplayer?

Phill: We did think about including online play but it just didn’t feel like the right thing to do. The multiplayer in LEGO Battles is all about people playing together and showing off the characters they have unlocked and this naturally feels better between a few friends in the same room.

NWR: Why do you think the RTS genre has largely been ignored on the DS? Do you think LEGO Battles will make it a viable genre on the platform?

Phill: The idea of an RTS game can be a little daunting to people who have not played them before and this could be a bit off putting for developers. The special thing about LEGO Battles is that there are concepts which apply to an RTS that also apply to building LEGO. As such, we wanted to make a game where people felt like they had control over their buildings, vehicles and characters in a similar way they would do if playing with LEGO in the real world. If LEGO Battles introduces people to a new style of gameplay and opens door for gamers to try RTS’s then great.

NWR: Why was the DS chosen as the target platform instead of the Wii?

Phill: There were a few reasons we decided on the DS but the main ones were the controls and the fact it’s a handheld. The dual screen and touch screen controls allowed us to make something that is a lot of fun to play. A handheld is the natural choice for LEGO Battles as we wanted players to be able to spend time playing the game and building an army before they go around to a friend’s house and challenge them with their favorite characters.

NWR: What is your impression of the Nintendo DSi right now?

Phill: I think it has a lot of potential and I’m looking forward to seeing some really interesting games coming out on it in the future.

NWR: Are there any DSi easter eggs?

Phill: I’m afraid not.

NWR: If the DS version is successful, is there potential for a Wii release/sequel?

Phill: Who knows! We listen to consumer feedback and if people enjoy LEGO Battles and are requesting a Wii version we could always look into the possibility.

Thanks to Phill and TT Games for taking the time to answer our questions!